Pearl District News

[philopdx]

The Janey II:

[bvpcvm]

BTW, Powell's Burnside entrance is open again.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by bvpcvm

BTW, Powell's Burnside entrance is open again.

Does that mean construction has been completed?

[bvpcvm]

No, the sidewalk along Burnside toward 11th is still blocked off, but I think all of the store is open again. I think they're still doing exterior work - the sign isn't up yet, at least.

[maccoinnich]

I feel like this article kind of lost sight of the bigger story, which is that affordable housing has been one of the big success stories of the Pearl. While it's a shame that Hoyt Street Properties are going to miss the targets set in 1997, it's also worth noting just how good the affordable housing that's there is. It's so good that Portlanders don't realize that there's any affordable housing in the Pearl. It completely blends into the neighborhood. It's also worth noting that the Hoyt Street Properties parcel is only a small part of the whole district. If you consider the whole district, there are hundreds of other affordable units, including at the Yards, Station Place and the Ramona.

Hoyt Street Properties fails to deliver enough affordable housing under Portland's Pearl District development deal



A rendering of a a 281-unit market-rate apartment complex being built in the north Pearl District by Atlanta-based Wood Partners and members of Hoyt Street Properties. This project is one of three in the pipeline for Hoyt Street, which failed to meet affordable housing goals under a development deal with the city of Portland (Wood Partners LLC)

By Brad Schmidt

Optimism ran high in 1997 as the Portland City Council approved a landmark deal to transform 34 acres of the forlorn Pearl District into an urban oasis that would be home to Portlanders of all incomes.

The city would spend tens of millions of dollars to bring traffic into the Pearl by tearing down the Lovejoy viaduct, building the nation's first new streetcar line and constructing three glistening parks.

Hoyt Street Properties, the largest landholder in the Pearl, would build thousands of dense condominiums and apartments while ensuring 35 percent were affordable to working-class residents.

And if the developers fell short? The city could buy land from Hoyt Street at a discount to get more affordable housing off the ground.

Today, Hoyt Street has missed its target. Only 30 percent of the nearly 2,000 units built under the deal are affordable, according to city documents obtained under the state's public records law. Three complexes now in the pipeline will bring Hoyt Street's affordable housing rate even lower, to 28 percent.

....continues at the Oregonian.

[bvpcvm]

Leave it to the Oregonian to paint a negative picture of government ("it's not clear why city employees ignored this issue", wink-wink) given any chance. Sure, they're a couple hundred units behind, but the Adelaide (or whatever it's called) is in the pipeline, so in a couple years they should be closer to being caught up.

[philopdx]

Janey II:

[philopdx]

Pearl West (9-floor office building):

[maccoinnich]

Great photo gallery - worth a click through. Great to learn that the first two floors will be open to the public, and include a cafe. I look forward to seeing this project complete. Very interesting building, being renovated by one of Portland's best architecture firms.

Check out how the renovation of a historic Portland building reveals secrets on and inside its wall (Photos)



Alli Pyrah

When Pacific Northwest College of Art began renovating the former 511 Federal Building, staff and students discovered that their new home was full of surprises.

Constructed in 1909, the building has many stunning original features. But after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement moved in, the agency "modernized" the building, lowering the ground floor ceilings to accommodate central heating and obscuring elaborate features such as the bronze columns at the entrance.

Now, PCNA – which will move into the building at 511 N.W. Broadway in January – is restoring the building to its former glory. The extensive renovations include raising the ceilings, unblocking the skylight and building a mezzanine floor.

...continues at Portland Business Journal.

[Derek]

Does anybody have any info on the hotel that was/is proposed for NW 9th between Flanders and Everett?

[maccoinnich]

As far as I can tell, it hasn't made it past the Design Advice Request stage. The neighborhood association seemed dead set against it (and the PDNA is probably the most pro-development neighborhood association in the whole city).

[MarkDaMan]

Portland will force Hoyt Street Properties to sell land for affordable housing in Pearl District
By Brad Schmidt | bschmidt@oregonian.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on September 02, 2014 at 5:39 PM, updated September 02, 2014 at 5:45 PM

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/i...l#incart_river

The Portland Housing Bureau on Tuesday announced that it will force Hoyt Street Properties to sell land to the city because the company missed its long-term contractual goals for developing affordable housing in the Pearl District.

The decision marks a key turning point for Portland officials, who faced a Sept. 8 deadline to leverage an eventual land sale as part of a 1997 development agreement between Hoyt Street and the city.

Portland's announcement follows reporting in The Oregonian that showed officials have known since at least March that affordable housing goals went unmet but the city took no documented steps toward a sale.

...

Of the nearly 2,000 units built under the agreement, only 30 percent are affordable. When another 500 units in the pipeline open in coming years, that share is expected to drop even lower, to 28 percent.

An analysis by The Oregonian found that Hoyt Street would need to develop 258 affordable units to meet its 35 percent target.

...

Hoyt Street, which has less than 6 acres of vacant, available land remaining, will chose a parcel to sell to the city. The development agreement allows Portland to buy up to half a city block.

Manning said the city will evaluate the eventual purchase price against other options for providing affordable housing to ensure the city gets a good bang for its buck. Funding for the purchase would come from Portland's River District urban renewal area, which is flush with money.

Any land purchase will go to the City Council for final approval.

...

[maccoinnich]

The Parker Apartments are having Grand Opening party, on the 22nd of Sept, 5-9 pm. Seems to be open invitation.

[2oh1]

Wow, the Parker is pricey. They're renting apartments under 500 square feet for as much as $1435 a month.

[maccoinnich]

Building permits are under review for both the Abigail (link) and 1420 Pearl (link). Demo permit for the Cash & Carry was approved on Friday (link). I guess we'll see both of these projects adding to the North Pearl construction soon.

[maccoinnich]

Portland developer excited for what's springing up in the north end of the Pearl
Jon Bell



When Portland developer Bob Ball, principal with Astor Pacific LLC, sold his Pearl District apartment building, The Wyatt, back in 2008, he was glad to be out of the real estate game at the right time.

But it didn’t take Ball long to start plotting his next move, especially when he saw housing projects being absorbed in the Pearl at a rate of nearly 220 per quarter. He started conceptualizing a new apartment building in 2010, found land in the Pearl’s north end near the Fremont Bridge, broke ground in 2012 and is now about to officially open the district’s first major residential project in years, The Parker.

“I was actually a little scared about whether I could make this work because I didn’t know what was going to happen to the economy,” Ball said. “I had to trust my instincts and the data. A lot of people thought I might fail, but I persevered and believed in it.”

...continues at Portland Business Journal.

[cab]

The Parker parking has a price. This building has terrible street presence. Blank walls abound. Nothing activates the sidewalk at all. The Parking garage entrance was placed on a future pedestrian street and has no active uses. Its poorly designed. Im not sure how it passed design review. Maybe the boring monotone white didnt trigger the "too much going on" reaction to so many projects of late. Hopefully the two building going up around it will soften the mistakes.

[maccoinnich]

I'm going to go by the opening party this evening to make my own judgement now that it's finished, but unfortunately I think I agree with you. Not every building needs retail, and I recognize that the further north you go, the harder it is to make retail work. But that's no excuse for having such a hostile presence towards the street. The loading dock / terrace is is way too high, which means means that pedestrians are mostly walking past blank walls. I don't get why the garage entrance is on 13th either. 12th would have been a much more appropriate choice.

[xnyr]

Just saw this new rendering of the Hampton Inn on 9th Ave and Everett. Rendering is of Everett and 9th corner.



Some of latest details:

Hotel is now the half block on 9th between Flanders and Everett and the quarter block between Everett and Park

• 232 rooms
• 8 stories across 9th, 94 feet high – a little below maximum allowable
• 7 stories on the quarter block on Park with green roof terrace overlooking the Park Blocks
• Interior courtyard/atrium
• 159 parking spaces on second floor with screened windows. Garage entrance on Flanders between 9th and Park.
• Masonry facades – two colors of brick plus metal cladding
• Bar/restaurant at 9th and Everett, retail on the rest of 9th and Everett with canopies all around
• Pedestrian hotel entrance on Everett
• Use of reclaimed wood from existing buildings

Apparent major changes from last proposal: demolish and develop derelict building at Everett and Park (a longtime eyesore), retail at ground level, switch from wood/metal/stucco to brick for facades and elimination of PTACs (air conditioner sleeves below each window) which was a major bone of contention.

Construction is due to start this spring and last 16 months.

I'm impressed with this latest iteration, it no longer looks like an airport motel. Not as daring as the Residence Inn further north, but better than the last proposal.

[maccoinnich]

Big kudos to the development team. They've taken it from abysmal to merely bad.